Baltimore, MD — Yesterday, members of the Senate introduced the highly anticipated bill to reform immigration policy in the United States. Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM; Center for Migrant Rights, in English), a transnational migrant legal rights organization that defends the rights of internationally recruited workers and other migrants, has been diligently reviewing the proposed legislation to determine how it will impact the workers whose interests we serve.
“This bill comes at an historic moment,” said Sarah Rempel, policy attorney at CDM, “Congress has the opportunity and the responsibility to create a just and fair immigration system that protects and promotes human dignity.”
For years, CDM has been working with migrant workers in Mexico and the United States to protect their labor and human rights. During this time, we have uncovered widespread abuses throughout the process, including in the recruitment of these workers. CDM has published several reports in the past few months documenting many of these abuses, including recruitment fraud, discrimination and wage theft, among others.
“This bill includes crucial provisions that address the widespread recruitment abuses that CDM has documented,” said Rachel Micah-Jones, CDM’s Executive Director. “The proposal introduced yesterday is a first step in ensuring that migrant workers’ rights are protected and defended.”
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CDM’s in-depth analysis of the proposed legislation can be found on our website. CDM staff are also available for comment.